A Shortage of Great Men

           I write this out of a deep concern for that branch intended to be the most powerful, the United States Congress.  I, however, have many hopes that the new arrivals in Washington will remedy this problem in the executive.  The attorney general selection coupled with the actions regarding Guantanamo have only served to bolster that hope.  Yet, after the many years of wasteland politics, one cannot help the feeling that gone are the days of Washington, Jefferson, and Adams, men who sought primarily to serve their people and preserve liberty; men who had sense of their moment in time, and made the most of it to the fullness of their ability, serving purposes far greater than themselves.  Where are our great men?

            Certainly not in the halls of Washington.  All that the Obama administration is attempting to accomplish that might remedy this scarcity, the congress seems bent on unraveling.  The corridors of power are populated with men seeking nothing but their own advancement.  Beyond their particular aspirations, these are not great men, steeped in the essence of their moment.  Those who founded this great nation spent their fleeting moments reading Demosthenes and Plato, conducting scientific experiments, or reasoning solutions to the problems of man.  Our last president, however, spent his fleeting moments watching Sports Center. 

It is, to a great degree, ironic that this should be our situation.  The American people, as a whole, undergoes a far more expansive education than ever before, yet, the great masses of the people have no idea who Demosthenes even is.  As a people we have moved toward the middle, producing neither great men, nor the severely destitute.  We have all become equitably mediocre, despite the differences in our intellectual capabilities.  While some may laud this outcome as a sign of our progress, I approach such a conclusion with great trepidation.  If we are at a loss for great men, who then will lead us to new heights?  Who will guide us in our most difficult moments?  Who will take the helm in moments of crisis?  The best of the mediocre?  Let us hope this is not the case.

The greatest fear inherent in this realization of mediocrity is a close analysis of that city which is the most mediocre of them all: Washington.  Its mediocre inhabitants aspire to the fame of the city's namesake without the desire to accomplish any great deed.  Looking at our current congress should make this situation obvious.  Lurking through the halls of Washington are some of the most mediocre individuals found within this country.  A series of mock legal professionals with no other aspirations than the furthering of their own political careers.  A cabal of pharisaic legislators who believe it their responsibility not to protect the freedom of their constituents, but coddle them away with federal gifts.  As you rise higher in party power, the mediocrity only becomes more entrenched, as the legislators become blinded by their own insignificant power into a state of complete anesthetization, unable to comprehend serving any higher purpose than their own tomorrow.

With such narrow minded delusions, the pathetic nature of the legislation rising from congress should come as no surprise.  With the intellectual profundity of a toddlers rambling, the legislators of the United States are slowly stripping away the Constitution, our freedoms, and even their own power.  First, and foremost, the American people are not viewed as people, per se, but instead a brainless mass which must be prodded, managed, and guided to do that which our leaders prefer.  They believe their occupation is not to protect our liberties, but to take them from us for our own good.  Only mediocre men could be so self-absorbed.

 Despite their progressive elimination of the Constitution and our liberty by virtue of their own self-absorption, they are simultaneously auctioning away their own powers as a side-effect of political expediency.  These legislators care only for the advancement of their careers, a false power measured in media exposure and re-election.  In so doing, they avoid with every ounce of effort available to them any sense of individual responsibility.  Any action made by the body is done in concert, lest some individual legislator receive the blame of an unforeseen mistake.   Indeed, by this tactic our legislators may simply throw up their hands in the event of some disastrous outcome and say, "who knew?" as they all voted in the safest way possible.  This sentiment is only echoed when some disaster does strike, no matter how predictable, as they repeat the phrase "no one saw this coming" like a cultish chant, dreaming that through repetition, their ridiculous dogma will become reality.  Even in this current economic crisis, many predicted its arrival, its many causes, and even its course.  Have our legislators chosen to listen to these voices?  Certainly not, as their failures would be implicated in such an action.  Instead, they rabidly chant excuses in concert, and scramble to present the appearance of action.  In so doing, they only compound the difficulties by shoveling manure onto an already festering heap of legislative blunders.

As our prestigious congressmen scramble to avoid responsibility, they in so doing scramble to heave their power as provided by the Constitution on someone else.  No longer is our congress the sole decider of warfare, tax policy, and judicial appointment, but all these matters have been cast at the feet of the president.  As the branch of government solely resides with the individual, the president becomes a magnet for responsibility, permitting congress to hover beneath the public eye and point the finger at the other branch.  Yet, this cowardice results properly in subordination, as the past president stumbled blindly across the barriers of the constitution, doing as he pleased, for not the perpetuation of his career, but the more erudite building of a mythology.  Unfortunately for modern presidencies, the building of great legacies are a result of great actions, not the destruction of lives and liberties.

We have inherited from the great men which founded this country a government of mediocrity.  In truth, the fault of this outcome lies not with their designs, or the self-aggrandizing mediocrity of our politicians, but only with us.  The leech-like creatures which inhabit government are successful in adapting themselves to satiate the emotional desires of the public.  With expansive media and the fusion of information and entertainment, we the people only desire small fragments of context-less information.  We adore politicians which grant us a feeling of warmth and security, regardless of the office or policies.  We elect officers with no sense of their responsibility.  Perhaps before attempting to determine who among a slate of party-provided career politicians would make the best senator we should first determine what it is a senator should do.  How many Americans, truly, have any understanding of the responsibilities of congress?  How many Americans have actually read the Constitution of the United States?  Taking but a few moments to read that great document perhaps could relieve this nation of our absence of greatness.

The United States, without question, is a great country: founded by great men on the great principle of liberty.  The refusal to simply go along with the powers that be by a few great men, who took on the responsibility of death if they failed, is staggering to the mediocrity of today.  In order to cope with such an idea, we have constructed a mythology of Jefferson, Adams, and Washington residing in an ivory tower, away from the fray, with full knowledge that their revolution would be secured.  In reality, their decision involved great risk, with an almost impossibility of success upon the outset of the endeavor.  However, they risked their lives simply on principle: that no man should arbitrarily have power over another.  This is indeed a great country, however, a great country cannot survive without great men.  Thomas Jefferson stated boldly that, "Every generation needs a revolution."  Perhaps this generation's revolution will be a political one, where mediocrity and irresponsibility are no longer tolerated, and great men, once again, prevail.